Nail packaging machine



Jan. 1, 1952 s, OTTO 2,581,042

NAIL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 17; 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet l fruner 0770 M ATTORNEY? Jan. 1, 1952 s. OTTO 2, 81 042 NAIL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 17, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR $70627 0770 m ATTORNEYA' S. OTTO NAIL PACKAGING MACHINE Jan. 1, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 17, 1946 S m rm TO N NW R E 0 W n 7 A M .M Z 5 S. OTTO NAIL PACKAGING MACHINE Jan. 1, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 17, 1946 INVENTOR .5 7U19R7 0770 A; ATTORNEYS s. OTTO mm. PACKAGING MACHINE Jan. 1, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 17, 1946 70 LOCK 156' INVENTOR 570027 0770 BY M W MFm AL; ATTORNEYS Jan. 1, 195 2 NAIL PACKAGING MACHINE S. OTTO 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 17, 1946 k v 722 Q I Ill! INVENTOR Sruner 07-7-0 AM ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 1, 1952 UNI-T151131- STATES The present invention relates to a method'aliizl' apparatus for"packaging'oblong"magnetic objcts suchas nails; screws; bolts', pins, rivets; spikes and the likawith saidobje'cts' arrang'edin par alielism so as toutilizeto themaximum all'of' the available spacewithinth'e' package orco'n=- tain'er.

While the apparatusdescribedherein will also handle" the packaging of metal powder; rfut's;v washers,',short rivetsand th'elike'which ma'y'n ot be termed' oblongj obj ect's, it" will be hereinafter" described specifically with'referenee "tothe"pa'ckaging of nails: It'is to be undertsoomiliowever, that the specific" description with reference" to" thepackaging of nailsis'notintended 'asia" limitat tiorrofthescope ofthis invention.

Machines have been designed" heretoforefor packaging-nailswherein themails' are' fed from a hopper or the like between the opposite-poles oi"' a magnet soastopri'ent them'insubstantialpar allelism and-whereinthe nails so oriented are removed' from f the machines and" packaged" in suitable containers. All of the maohinesxheretofore" designed; however; require constant attention and operation by, an experienced operator and are by no means automatic.

One object of the" present invention: is' to. provide apparatus for automatically packaging weighed quantities of nails without requiring" manual operation or adjustinent of'the machine from the-time that the apparatus is settohamile nails of -"a' given size;

Another obj ect'" of the present invention" is to" provide a" machine that will, with-great accuracy; orient and: package only a predetermined weight ofnails in any one package? A further object is to 'provide a method-and apparatus wherein nails arepacked into -a"pack" age Whilethe-nailsare maintained'in substantial parallelism under the influence of parallel "lines of magnetic force.

Still another object of thepresent invention is to provide a machine having means for-con veying empty containers*or packages to the niachine, fillingthem-with=nails=oriented in paral lelism and removing them fromthemachine:

These and other objects-will become apparent from the description that follows hereinafter;

The apparatus herein described is capable of packing nails into packages-ineither 'singletier's' or in a multiple of tiers; i. e.-, nails may be-p'acked into a small carton or box-which is-substantially" of the same length as the length of-the nails? or" the-nails may 'be,pa'cked *into containers of sub stantially greater length than the-nails so that two; three; fourpr: more" lengths 'of nailsmagfb'e" pa'ckeiiintoth'esamepackage. I

When nails are packaged while they are in substantial parall'eli'srn, the saving in volume of pa'oliagesi'fora giver? weight of nails varies from for? some typesoi. long: thin nails" and generally"? aiizeragesabbutfif; to 4tpfer cent: The term container, ens-used in" the preteritspecificatiorrzarrd appended claims? is intended 110 include" receptacles ant? vessel's suchas boxes; cartons: crates; kegs; sacks; bagsrantr' thelik'e' generally employed. tboontainj ship and" store" nail's'in .qruant'rtyrorindustrial; wholesale or retail purposes? In carrying out the presentinventi'on; nails" are taken'frorn anyfsuitabitasource to'a weighin gzmechanisnrbymeans of*a*conveyor" rovideu beriea'tii' trio lip thereof with at magnetizable drikitilearresto'r? When-apredetrminewmass -or? nailsfilrasween 'depositeuirrtheweighing mechanism: movementorthe'conveyor'is stopped, the dribble'arrestorus'actuated; amass-nausirrth'e" wer' iiirigimecrianism'are clepb'i'sted in'avibrating? nopperr'to.bounce'and"therebyiseparate thenails" from one another? ine separatednail'sfare then" ermitted to" ran into a" magnetic field between" the poles" of a magne'vwn'ere? the, lines. or force are" parallel In thisi' magnetifielil th'e' Ira-us: come to r'e'sifinparalleliiifb'iit somewhatspaced" apart. A2 lun e-ms" "provided to ack the nails into. the t package thavmay He br'ouglit into posi tron ldyian" intermittentl moving, conveyor and toremo've" tne'filiu paeiiage from the fiiagheti veveil'a'w'ay 'frorn" therna'oli'iiieforf the usual processing prior to shipment.

Fiurel 'i's a viewfifi perspective ofan enib'odi men't ofthe pre ent invntion dsigned'tb-pack nailsfirittfi packages "such Tas teartofis moving. along. twoparanerconveyors;

Figure? 2"is a' view in perspective of'anotlier embodiment designed to" pac'k' several ti'rsiof nails. into-single"paeliagesz Figure 4 is a part-sectional elevation of an embbdimentfdesi'nedfto'pacli-nails into packages suchas".liegs; or mire-um cross section;

embodiment shown in Figure 7 designed initially to pack four tiers of nails into a keg;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view showing a method of packing two tiers of nails into a keg;

Figure 7 is a similar view illustrating a method of packing three tiers of nails into a keg;

Figure 8 is a schematic view illustrating mechanism for coordinating the movements of some of the moving parts shown in Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a schematic view illustrating mechanical and electrical means for coordinating the movements of the remaining moving parts shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 10 is a part-sectional elevation illustrating a mechanism for adjusting the distance between the north and south poles of anelectromagnet.

The apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 includes two poles H and I2 of an electro-magnet supported upon a cut-out, non-magnetic bed plate in as shown more clearlyin Figure 10. Pole H is fixed to bed plate In by brackets such as angle irons I3 while pole i2 is slidably mounted on bed plate In by any suitable means such as angle irons M. A magnetic field having parallel lines of force between poles H and I2 is induced by means of a coil about a telescopic core Hi. The distance between poles H and I2 may be adjusted by turning hand wheel I! of threaded shaft |8 mounted for threaded engagement in block l9 afiixed to bed plate l0. Shaft |8 has a flanged end I8a in engagement with an annular recess in or afi'ixed to, pole I2.

It is within the contemplation of this invention, however, to make both poles H and |2 movable relative to bed plate H].

An H-shaped chamber 20 of hard, smooth, non-magnetic material comprising two vertical chutes 2| and 22 and a rectangular section 24, having side walls 26 and 21 and a closed bottom 29 and communicating through openings in the ends thereof with vertical chutes 2| and 22, is locked into position between magnetic poles II and I2. An inverted L-shaped wiper plate 30. likewise of hard, smooth, non-magnetic material, is partly disposed within section 24 and adapted to move from end to end thereof by means of screw drive 3| driven by clutch 32. A vibrating hopper 34 is provided to bounce, separate and, drop nails 36 into section 24 of chamber 20 and a pair of plungers 3|, actuated by plunger rods 39, are provided within chutes 2| and 22.

Beneath bed plate N] there are provided two conveyors 40 and 4| to convey cartons 42 to positions beneath chutes 2| and 22 and onto elevator platforms 44 and 4E actuated by elevator plungers 41 and 49, respectively.

In operation, a measured mass of nails 36 is fed into section 24 by way of vibrating hopper 34. The magnetic lines of force generated by magnetic poles H and I2 and passing through section 24 orient the nails into substantial parallelism. As soon as all the nails have been deposited in section 24, clutch 32 is thrown to turn screw 3| so as to move L-shaped wiper plate 30 'to the position indicated by reference numeral 30, so that the loosely packed, oriented nails in section 24 are pushed into chute 2| and said chute becomes a, closed shaft, open only at the bottom. Elevator plunger 41 actuates elevator platform 44 to raise carton 42 so that the lower end 50 of chute 2| moves relatively into carton 42 until it touches the bottom of said carton and assumes the position shown in the right hand portion of action of the magnetic lines of force.

platform 46, and elevator plunger rod 49. Plunger rod 39 then moves plunger 31 down through chute 2| to pack the nails into carton 42 and continues its downward stroke through chute 2| until it has depressed elevator platform 44 and carton 42, which is now filled with nails, to a position flush with conveyor 43. Plunger 31 then moves upwardly and conveyor 40 moves carton 42 onward so that the carton can be covered and further processed for shipment. In the meantime, and during the downward stroke of plunger 37, a further measured mass of nails is fed into section 24 as before. Clutch 32 operates screw shaft 3| in the opposite direction to move plate 33 to the right to push the oriented nails into and close chute 22. The operation of packing the nails in chute 22 into carton 42 on elevator platform 46 is accomplished by plunger 31 in exactly the same manner as described with reference to the container on elevator platform 44.

The interior dimension of section 24 between walls 26 and 27, and the corresponding dimensions within chutes 2| and 22, are slightly in excess of the length of the nails to be packaged. When it is desired to adjust the machine to handle a diiferent size of nail, chamber 20 is removed and a similar chamber having interior dimensions corresponding to the new length of the nails to be packed is locked in place. Magnetic pole l2 can be moved backwards or forwards by means of hand wheel I! to accommodate the different sizes of chamber 20. A new set of plungers 31 corresponding in size with the interior dimensions of the chutes in the new chamber are attached to plunger rods 39 and cartons 42 are replaced by cartons adapted to fit around ends 54 of the new chutes. Part 30 is changed accordingly.

The embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 is suitable for packaging four tiers of nails into a single package. This modification includes an elevator platform 60 actuated by elevator shafts 6| for lifting a package 62 from a conveyor (not shown) to a position about the lower end of a rectangular chamber 64 provided with three vertical partitions 66, B7 and 68, indicated by dotted lines, to divide chamber 64 into four equal parts. An electro-magnet comprising a coil 69 and two arms 10 and H at opposite ends of chamber 64 further provided with auxiliary poles pieces '12 and 14 generates parallel lines of magnetic force through chamber 64. Nails are fed from any suitable source (not shown) onto conveyors 15, over an electro-magnetic dribble arrestor I6 and onto one or a series of weighing mechanisms 11. When predetermined masses of nails have been deposited on weighing mechanisms Tl, they operate to interrupt the motion of conveyor and to activate dribble arrestor 76 so that any nails that have left the lips of conveyors l5 and not yet reached weighing mechanisms 17 will be attracted and held to dribble arrestor 16. This may, for example, be accomplished by electrical or other suitable means, as hereinafter described. The nails on weighing mechanisms 11 are then dumped into vibrating chutes or hoppers i9 and passed into the respective vcompartments in chamber 64 wherein they are oriented in substantial parallelism by the When the measured masses of nails have been deposited in the various compartments of chamber 64, plungers 80, activatedby plunger rods 39, push the nails downinto package 62 and push the amigo-4a entire. filled package. and elevatorplatform $111 down onto. the conveyor, whereupon package 92. is. removed from elevator platform 69 and replaced by-an. empty package.

It .is,.of course, within. the contemplation of this invention to. provide eithera. single 'conveyorand weighing mechanism combinations-for all of the compartments, in which event. said. combinationwillzbe; shifted progressively to. discharge. a; measured mass of nails into eachhopper, or to provide. such. a. combination; for. each hopper, as. shownin Figure. 2, whereby the var-- ions, compartments; will be. filled simultaneously. Furthermore, it is. within the; scope or this inventionv to divide chamber E4 into compartments. of. difierent sizes to permit. .the. simultaneous. packaging. of. tumor more difi-erentsizes of. nails. into a single package.

When. it is. desired to: adapt. the, machine illustrated in Figure2 for packaging. a. different-size of naihchamber '64: and chutes it; are replaced by anew chamber 64 provided with hoppers or chutes '19 of convenient size and plungers. 90; are'detached from rods 39. sothat anew set; of plungers may be. attached to plunger rods. 39. Finally the. auxiliary pole pieces E2. and Id are. replaced by pieces of sumcient. thickness. to take up. the. spacebetween permanent pole pieces. I9 and Hand the. end of chamber, 64:; leaving sufficientroomto allow a package 52 to. be. elevated to. the. positionshown.

The embodiment illustrated in Figure 3. is. one designed especiallyto pack and. fill simultaneousl-y a. number of cartons with nails. This machine, includes a coil 69, magnetic pole pieces.

H1- and 71;, and auxiliary polepieces l2 and letake. upthe. space;between permanent; pole pieces 19. and II and the. ends: of a. series of chambers 81, or-it may be. made at right angles to that shown in. Figure 3; so that there is only one length of nail between the poles instead of 8. An. elevator platform 59 actuated. by elevator plunger rods 91 operates to lift. eight empty carton-s 82; into juxtaposition at the bottom. of chambers SI and a series of vibrating hoppers 1-9 similar to that'of the embodiment shown in Figure 2, furnished with suitable weighing mechanisms, dribble arrestors and conveyors (not shown), are provided, for the introduction of nails into the magnetic field induced by pole pieceslll, I2, II and I4 and passing through chambers 8|. When the required mass; of nails has. been deposited in each of said chambers,

plungersfi l actuated by plunger rods 39 operate-v to pack the nails into cartons 82 and to depress elevator platform til until it is again fiush with. the conveyor (not shown), so that filled cartonsseparated nails. intoa chute-like chamber 92-:

having. its: bottom closed by the bottom 94: of a keg:96' supported between poles 91 and. 99' by anelevator or platform- I90 Poles 91' and 99' may be: the poles of an el'ectro-magnet provided with Chamber 92 may be of circular or rectangulancross-section tofit within keg 99 and a coil IBI.

it. may be divided: lengthwise intcziafplu'rality compartments such as shown by way of example inFigures 5, fi and'l to accommodate given-sizes of nails. If '92 is cylindrical thenthere. can be no partition subdividing it-into compartments. When a predetermined maSs o'inails has been deposited in chamber 92 and. oriented in subspace between the-side wallof keg 96 and the side wall or walls of chamber 92 when keg 96is depressed from proximity with chamber92.

The movement in timed relation of the various moving parts ofthe apparatus shown in Figure 1 is illustrated by way of example inFigures- 8 and 9. A motor H0 isconnected by suitable gearsand shafts to cranks HI and H2, clutch drive 32 and ringgear H4. cooperation with coil springs IIS and-I II' operate to'raise and lowenresiliently, and in timed relation, elevator plungersfland 48- carryingelvator platform 44' and, respectively. Ring-gear I'I4' operates through clutches H9 and I29 to actuate plunger rods 39 by means or cranks I2! and I22, likewise in timed relation. A rod I24 engaged with a shifting lever I26 for clutch 32 and carrying a pair of cam rollers: I21 and I29; 21; pair-of lugs I30, and I-3I, and a switch I32 is positioned across the face of the machine; A-

pairoi-pawls I34 and I36 pivoted at pivot points" held in the uppositionin which pawl I36 is shown by springs (not shown. acting" on rods I39 and I40 in engagement with clutches III9 and I20 respectively. Plunger rods 39 are provided with camextensions 'I'4I and I42 and, when not actuated by cranks I2'I or' I22- through clutches H9 or I20; are held in the up position by'springs I'44:and I46. 7

Weighing mechanism I1 is provided. with a number of contact points I41, I49 and I45, mounted on conductor ring I50 and. capable of" successively making electrical contact-with con.- tact' point I5I on line I52 to close the circuit with line I54", and an electrically released spring lock I56; by switch I321 Lines I52 and. I54. are connected to a solenoid [59 which in turn. is operativ'ely. connected'to an electrb-m'agnet I69 for dribble arrestior I6. and to vibrator I61. for conveyor I5. A vibrator 9I for vibrating hopper 34 may, be connected directly to the. line tomain-- tain constant vibration of the. hopper.

In operation, rod I241 is normally. in the neu.-. tral v position shown in Figure. '8. When wiper plate 3|!" reaches its extreme left position, plate.

stroke of .plunger 31 through chute 2|, cam extension I4I bears against cam roller I21 and causes rod I24 to move to its extreme left position so that screw 3i becomes engaged with clutch 32 to move wiper plate 30 to the right and switch I32 closes the circuit to bring about the momen tary unlocking of lock I56. 1

In the meantime conveyor I is operative and dribble arrestor magnet I50 is deenergized, to feed nails from any suitable source into weighingmechanism H by way of conveyor 75, the position of said Weighing mechanism being that shown in the drawing whereby contact is made between contact points I49 and I5I to close the circuit to solenoid I59. As soon as a predetermined mass of nails has been deposited in weighing mechanism 17, it rotates through a slight angle insufiicient to dump the nails into vibrating hopper 34 but sufficient to open the circuit to solenoid I59 and thus to interrupt operation of conveyor I5 and to energize electro-magnet I60 of dribble arrestor 16. The subsequent opening of lock I55 permits weighing mechanism 11 to rotate sufficiently to dump the nails into hopper 34, again assume a receiving position for the nails, and close the circuit between contact points I48 and I5I to energize solenoidI59 and in turn deenergize dribble arrestor I6 and activate conveyor I5.

When wiper plate 30 has moved a sufficient distance to the right to disengage pawl I34, rod I39 moves upwardly to disengage crank I2I from clutch II9. Plunger .31 is then drawn upwardly through chute 2| to its rest position by means of spring I44.

When wiper plate 30 reaches its extreme right position, extension I35 engages lug I3I to disengage screw 3I from clutch 32 and depresses pawl I36 to start the working stroke of plunger rod 39 as. before. Cam I42 engages cam roller I29 to move rod to its extreme right position to reengage screw 3| for reverse drive through clutch 32 and switch I32 againcloses the circuit to momentarily release lock I55. The, operations are the same as those previously described when wiper plate 30 moves to the left to close chute 2 I.

It is to be understood, of course, that similar coordinating means are applicable, with considerable simplification due to the lesser number of moving parts, to the embodiments illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4.

Chambers such as H-shaped chamber and chambers 64, 8|, and 92 may be made of any smooth, non-magnetic material capable of withstanding the continued impact and abrasion of the nails passing therethrough. It has been found, however, that the preferable construction is to make each chamber of one integral welded piece of non-magnetic, stainless steel with a polished interior surface in order to facilitate the pushing of the nails by wiper plate 30 and plungers 31 of Figure 1 or plungers 80, 84 and I02 of Figures 2, 3 and 4. Plate 30 and plungers 31, 80, 84 and I 02 should likewise be of a hard non-magnetic material such as brass or stainless steel and their surfaces should be polished smooth.

It is within the scope of this invention to use either permanent magnets or electro-magnets to generate the magnetic field. It will be understood, of course, that in some cases electro-magnets are required to providea sufiiciently dense magnetic flux when large quantities of articles are being packaged, for example in kegs or barrels. When permanent magnets or electro-magnets energized continuously throughout the packaging operation are employed, it is desir able that the plunger or plungers used to pack the nails into the packages be operated as described to push the filled packages beyond the effective magnetic field to avoid disarranging the orientation of the nails therein under the influence of the curved lines of force remote from the magnetic poles. When electro-magnets are energized only periodically, that is, energized to orient the nails in parallelism in the chamber and de-energized during operation of the plunger or plungers, the nails must be pushed rapidly into the package so that no opportunity is allowed them to fall freely or otherwise get out of parallelism before they are packaged. The strength of the magnetic field required to orient the nails in parallelism varies with the size and quantity of nails to be packaged and can readily be determined by trial and error.

It is manifest that the apparatus herein described, with the magnetic poles removed or de-, energized, is likewise capable of packing accurately weighed quantities of metallic articles, such as metal powders, nuts, washers, short rivets and the like that do not require parallel alignment when packed.

It is obvious that many changes may be made in the construction of the apparatus illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A nail packaging machine comprising an H-shaped chamber of non-magnetic material having a central, rectangular section and two vertical chute sections, said central section being open at the top to receive a deposit of nails and open at the ends for communicating with each of said chute sections, said chute sections being closeable at the bottom by a container for receiving said nails, magnetic poles of opposite polarity adjacent said chamber to generate a magnetic field of sufficient strength to orient nails within said chamber in substantial parallelism, means for transferring said nails from said central section alternately to one of said chute sections, and plunger means within said chute section to pack nails within said chute section into said container.

2. A nail packaging machine comprising a chamber of non-magnetic material to receive nails, magnetic poles of opposite polarity adjacent to and at opposite sides of said chamber to generate parallel lines of force through said chamber, a conveyor to move a container into position below the chamber, means to elevate the container to a position contiguous with the lower portion of the chamber, means for introducing a premeasured mass of nails into the chamber for orientation thereof along said parallel lines of force, plunger means to transfer the nails oriented in parallelism into said container and to depress said container and said elevating means to a position flush with said conveyor and means for operating said nail introducing means, conveyor, elevating means, and plunger means in timed relationship.

3. A nail packaging machine comprising a chamber of non-magnetic material to receive a predetermined mass of nails, magnetic poles of opposite polarity adjacent to and at opposite sides of said chamber to generate parallel lines of force through said chamber, a conveyor to move a container into position below the chem-- an E evat weenie. ih mn a ner to, a

position contiguous with the lower portion of the chamber, means for introducing a premeasured mass of nails into the chamber for orientation thereof along said parallel lines of force, a plunger to transfer the nails oriented in parallelism from said chamber into said container and to depress the container and the elevator to a position flush with the conveyor and outside the effective field of the magnetic lines of force generated by said magnetic poles and means for operating said nail introducing means, conveyor, elevator, and plunger in timed relationship.

4. A nail packaging machine comprising a rectangular chamber having side and end Walls of non-magnetic material and being open at the bottom, magnetic poles of opposite polarity adjacent to and at opposite sides of said chamber to generate parallel lines of force through said chamber, a conveyor to move a container into position below the chamber, means to elevate the container to close the bottom of the chamber, means for depositing in said chamber a premeasured mass of nails for orientation within said chamber along said parallel lines of force, plunger means to transfer the nails oriented in parallelism into said container and to depress said container and said elevating means to a position flush with said conveyor and means for operating said depositing means, conveyor, elevating means, and plunger means in timed relationship.

5. A nail packaging machine comprising a rectangular chamber having side and end walls of non-magnetic material and being open at the bottom, magnetic poles of opposite polarity adjacent to and at opposite sides of said chamber to generate parallel lines of force through said chamber, a conveyor to move a container into position below the chamber, an elevator to elevate the container to a position contiguous with the lower portion of the chamber, means for depositing in said chamber a premeasured mass of nails for orientation within said chamber along said parallel lines of force, a plunger to transfer the nails oriented in parallelism from said chamber into said container and to depress the container and the elevator to a position flush with the conveyor and outside the eifective field of th magnetic lines of force generated by said magnetic poles and means for operating said depositing means, conveyor, elevator, and plunger in timed relationship.

6, A nail packaging machine comprising an H-shaped chamber of non-magnetic material having a central rectangular section and two vertical chute sections, said central section being open at the top to receive a predetermined mass of nails and open at the ends for communicating with said chute sections, said chute sections being open at the bottom, magnetic poles of opposite polarity adjacent to and at opposite sides of said chamber to generate parallel lines of force through said chamber, conveyors to move containers successively into position below said chute sections, elevators to elevate the containers to close the bottoms of said chute sections, means for intermittently introducing premeasured masses of nails into the central section of the chamber to orient said nails into substantial parallelism, a plate extending into and movable laterally through the central section of said chamber from end to end to transfer the nails oriented in parallelism within said section al- 10 ternately into said chute sections, plungers movable alternately and vertically through said chute sections to transfer the nails therein into the containers thereunder and to depress said containers and said elevators to positions flush with said conveyors, and means for operating said nail introducing means, said plate, said conveyors, said elevators and said plungers in timed relationship.

'7. A nail packaging machine comprising an intermittently movable conveyor to move a container, a chamber having side walls of nonmagnetic material, an opening to receive a predetermined mass of nails and an open bottom closeable by said container, magnetic poles of oppo site polarity adjacent to and at opposite sides of said chamber to generate parallel lines of force through said chamber, an elevator to elevate the container from Said conveyor to close the bottom of the chamber, means for introducing a premeasured mass of nails into the chamber for orientation thereof along said parallel lines of force, a plunger to pack the nails oriented in parallelism within said chamber into said container and to depress said container and the elevator to a position flush with the conveyor and means for operating said nail introducing means, said conveyor, said elevator and said plunger in timed relationship.

8. A nail packaging machine comprising an intermittently movable conveyor to move a container, an H-shaped chamber of non-magnetic material comprising a central rectangular section and two vertical chute sections, said central section being open at the top to receive a predetermined mass of nails and open at the ends for communicating with said chute sections, said chute sections being open at the bottom and individually closeable by said container, magnetic poles of opposite polarity adjacent to and at opposite sides of said chamber to generate parallel lines of force through said chamber, an elevator to elevate the container from said conveyor to close the bottom of one of said chute sections, means for introducing a premeasured mass of nails into the central section of the chamber to orient said nails into substantial parallelism, a plate extending into and movable laterally through the central section of said chamber from end to end to transfer the nails oriented in parallelism within said section into said one of said chute sections, a plunger to pack the nails oriented in parallelism within said chute section into said container and to depress said container and the elevator to a position flush with the conveyor, and means for operating said nail introducing means, said plate, said conveyor, said elevator and said plunger in timed relationship.

STUART OTTO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,080,435 Gamper Dec. 2, 1913 1,249,613 Gamperu' Decl 11, 1917 1,330,113 Gamper Feb. 10, 1920 1,367,083 Otto Feb. 1, 1921 2,109,076 Stearns et al. Feb. 22, 1938 2,352,663 Sowden July 4, 1944 2,373,838 Lindholm Apr, 17, 1945 

